Wednesday, July 10, 2013

On the afternoon of March 18 1915 at around 2:00pm, explosions rocked three of the lead battleships of one of the largest armadas of World War One. 18 battleships steamed up the Dardanelles to attack Gallipoli and eventually Constantinople, the capitol of the Ottoman Empire, (Later changed it's name to Turkey). The French battleship "Bouvet" Suffered a massive explosion, and rolled over and sank in two minutes, taking 640 of her crew with her to the bottom. Hms Irrsistable was next to suffer an explosion, and listing badly, her crew transfered to Hms Ocean, which then also exploded.

It was obvious by now that the fleet had entered an unknown minefield, despite having swept for mines ahead of this campaign. The crews of both ships were mostly saved, but as the armada was ordered to turn back, in the ensuing chaos, two more alliad ships also hit mines, and were badly damaged.

The night before, under cover of darkness, the Turkish mine-layer Nusaret had sneaked down the Dardanelles into allied waters, and laid mines outside the known shipping lane , in the shoal waters which lay on each side of the center lanes. The allies had already swept for mines, and despite the fact that the Turks had only 26 mines left in it's arsenal, this action literally changed the war, leading the allies to switch to plan 'B', a land invasion which would leave behind 220,000 casualties out of 570,000 allied troops and 250,000 casualties out of 315,000 Turkish troops.

Everyone reading this might ask " what does this have to do with me? With everything going on in the world, how does this effect me? I mean, it doesn't have anything to do with the Kardashians, or the Royal baby, or
the Obamacare disaster, plane/train crashes, trials, the IRS scandal, economy, Amanda Bynes or Honey Boo Boo . Think again. Next time you turn over your car engine, and start up your "hoopdi" or your "ride" or "baby" or whatever you call your automibile... to motor on down toStarbucks to get acup of chamomile tea with soy milk and extra stevia, imagine having no gas in the tank, and not being able to get any. (or stand in a line of 150 cars for a 5 gallon ration) It happened to my dad in 1973 and could happen again. Google search "World's biggest anti-mine naval exercise after Iranian threats to close Gulf".
The following video explains the nuts and bolts of mine countermeasures, and not a whole lot has changed since Gallopoli campaign. Mines are still a dirt cheep way for one entity to bring

shipping to a halt.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

USS Lucid News

Set Condition One Mike

Set Condition One Mike is dedicated to the IRON MEN who served aboard USS Pluck MSO 464

Condition One Mike

"Condition One Mike" (Cond1 M) is a special type of General quarters aboard Ocean Going Minesweepers. The ship is at full alert and all battle stations are manned. The crew is deployed about the weather decks, the only persons left inside the skin of the ship being the helmsman and lee helmsmen. Bed mattresses are placed on the overhead of the pilot house for the benefit of those two crewmen in the event of a mine detonation too close to the ship. The deck crew is stationed on the fantail and tasked with deploying and recovering the sweep gear. This is hazardous duty, a mixture of some of the same hazards found on flight decks, with wires under high tension and sailors working in very close proximity to such wires, explosive cutter cartridges which have to be armed one at a time as they are set out and disarmed before being brought back on board , often by a Boatswain's mate or Gunner's mate hanging over the very ass end by a safety harness. They are armed and disarmed with a small cotter pin similar to a hand grenade. The whole scene is very similar to the modern TV show "Deadliest catch", but the crab pods are mine sweeping devices, and the "catch" are big round and cylindrical BOMBS capable of sinking an aircraft carrier.

Magnetic Material Control is Everybody's Business

Sign on the door of the combat information center aboard the USS Pluck MSO 464

Gally Watch Captain

Monterey bay California 1982

About Me

I was a gally watch captain, ship's baker, and jack of the dust aboard USS Pluck, MSO 464,between December 1981 and August 1985 and these are reflections of what I remember during the 4 years I served aboard the best minesweeper in the fleet. She is gone now, but the memories are still as raw as the smell of freshly stirred bilge gas mixing with stack fumes as we hit the first swell at Point Loma and I still go there in my sleep.